Labour candidate, Henry Upton, condemns FG plan to privatise Dublin Bus
Issued : Tuesday 15 February, 2011
Statement by Cllr Henry Upton
Councillor Henry Upton, Labour Party candidate for the General Election in Dublin South Central, has hit out at Fine Gael proposals to slash funding to CIE and to open up bus routes to private operators.
Speaking in relation to Michael Noonan's comments on the RTE News At One (15.2.2011) and the Fine Gael election manifesto, Henry Upton stated "The Fine Gael privatisation plans for CIE and Dublin Bus in particular will cause chaos. Dublin Bus provides a service for all the communities of the city, not-for-profit but for the good of the people. Any privatisation of bus routes will inevitably lead to private operators "cherry picking" high volume routes such as the 46a, whilst neglecting smaller local communities."
"I have been campaigning with local residents across Dublin South Central who are worried about losing their bus services. People in Inchicore, Ballyfermot and Crumlin are worried about losing their local services. It is older people and the less mobile who will suffer most from cutbacks in services. Services such as the 19, the 121 and the 122 are already under threat" said Henry Upton
"Henry Upton concluded "We need to prioritise good public transport, available to all. This cannot be sacrificed to meet the privatisation agenda of people in Fine Gael or Fianna Fail."
